James Neal

When a team finds success in the NHL on a consistent basis, it is very difficult for GM’s to tinker with said success in order to find greater success. It is the easiest explanation as to how the NHL has witnessed such playoff parity. In the modern cap era it has become even more difficult to place a team on the ice that has a continued shot at a championship. So with all of this in perspective, is it possible that we see a Stanley Cup champion this season that has also won the cup within the past five seasons?

It is the question that seemingly everyone in the NHL is waiting to see. With Pittsburgh and Chicago pushing the boundaries of greatness, the NHL might finally witness ...

Well, the Pittsburgh Penguins have officially acquired Jarome Iginla from the Calgary Flames. In exchange for the veteran’s experience the Penguins have traded their first round selection in the 2013 entry level draft and unsigned college prospects Ben Hanowski and Kenny Agostino.

Amid rumors and credited reporting, Jarome Iginla had initially been on his way to Boston. After a tough loss to the Canadiens, Boston fans were rejoicing in emphatic jubilance to have such a revered player help fix whatever ail their team. Twitter erupted with numerous reports on how the trade was won and how Boston has pulled into a virtual (paper champion) tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins after th...

It was a 4-1 game after the first period and Marc Andre Fleury was pulled after a horrible outing.

It had all the makings for a Flyers win. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, there were still 40 minutes left in the game and the Penguins were the only team to show up those remaining two periods.

Much like the poor effort in New York, Philadelphia collapsed to the Penguins. Pittsburgh scored four unanswered goals to climb out of the 4-1 hole, beating the Flyers 5-4 in Philadelphia Thursday night.

(Pictured: Chris Kunitz celebrates after scoring the first of two goals in the first period. AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

Round two of the Stanley Cup Quarterfinals from last year will occur in Pittsburgh tonight. One of the most potent offenses in the entire league will test the Flyers' defense. It's Rivalry Night in Western Pennsylvania.

The Islanders hosted fellow Atlantic Divison rivals, the New Jersey Devils, on Saturday night at the Nassau Coliseum. The Isles evened up the season series at two-a-piece in another explosive game by John Tavares and the lethal power play unit.

Tavares led the way through this one, scoring his 4th career hat trick and adding an assist to the 5-1 win over New Jersey. Matt Moulson assisted on all three of Tavares’ goals, in addition to scoring one of his own, giving both of them 4-point games. (Photo Credit: T.J. Weber/The Checking Line)

On Tuesday, January 29th, the Pittsburgh Penguins played host to the New York Islanders. With five minutes remaining in the second period, the Islanders John Tavares and Matt Moulson would both score, respectively, on consecutive power plays. At the end of the period the Pittsburgh Penguins players were booed off of the ice. The real kicker, when the Penguins returned to the ice, the arena had been half full.

Just ten days ago the Penguins record would have indicated an average team considering they were only 3-3-0. People questioned their toughness, their skill, and whether or not they could ever be considered a true Stanley Cup contender. That was just six games ...

Opening the season with back to back games in consecutive days is a difficult task. The kicker would be taking on two division rivals poised at humiliating you in their respective home openers.

The Pittsburgh Penguins, however, were poised in their own right.

The Penguins would beat the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday and then follow up their performance with another victory against the New York Rangers on Sunday. Despite sloppy play and some new faces, Pittsburgh appears to be one of the more congealed teams early on.

With a 3-1 victory on Saturday against Philadelphia, Pittsburgh exercised some early demons. Establishing the lead early on, Pittsburgh scored off o...